British Columbia Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman Over Tumbler Ridge School Shooting
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British Columbia has sued OpenAI and Sam Altman in San Francisco federal court, alleging the Tumbler Ridge school shooting could have been prevented if the company had warned police about the shooter's ChatGPT use.
British Columbia has sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in US federal court in San Francisco, alleging that the February mass shooting at a school in Tumbler Ridge could have been prevented if the company had warned police that the shooter was using ChatGPT to plan the attack, the Guardian reported. The province filed the suit on Monday, September 21, 2026, about seven months after the February 10 attack.
On February 10, according to police, the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, shot her mother and stepbrother at home before killing an educational assistant and five students aged 12 and 13 at her former school. Van Rootselaar, who was 18, then died by suicide.
What the province is asking for
According to the Guardian, the lawsuit seeks damages to fund recovery efforts in the province after the attack, along with a court order directing changes to how OpenAI handles ChatGPT conversations that could lead to violence.
The lawsuit says the province has been forced to absorb the costs of a replacement school, mental health care and other effects of the shooting. The school where the shooting took place is being demolished, the Guardian reported.
What the lawsuit alleges
Van Rootselaar had been flagged by OpenAI's safety team after her conversations about gun violence, but the company did not alert police, according to the Guardian.
Her interactions with ChatGPT were first flagged by the company in June 2025, the Guardian reported. The lawsuit says safety team members recommended contacting police, but that Altman and other OpenAI leadership overruled them. For that claim, the lawsuit cites OpenAI whistleblowers who spoke to the Wall Street Journal after the shooting.
The shooter's account was deactivated, but she was able to open a new account and continue using the platform to plan her attack, the Guardian reported.
After the Wall Street Journal published its article, OpenAI said the account had been flagged by systems that identify "misuses of our models in furtherance of violent activities," but that the issues did not meet its internal criteria for reporting to law enforcement.
Altman's apology and OpenAI's response
Altman published a letter to the community saying he was "deeply sorry" that OpenAI had not contacted law enforcement. He promised reforms, but never followed through, despite efforts from British Columbia's attorney general to engage, the lawsuit says.
A spokesperson for OpenAI, Drew Pusateri, called the Tumbler Ridge shooting an unspeakable tragedy. "OpenAI remains committed to working collaboratively with government and law enforcement officials, and continuing to advance our ongoing safety work," Pusateri said, according to the Guardian.
OpenAI has said it trains its models to refuse requests that could "meaningfully enable violence," and that it notifies law enforcement when conversations suggest "an imminent and credible risk of harm to others."
A growing set of cases
The province's suit follows lawsuits filed in California by more than 30 family members of victims and others affected by the attack, who accuse the company of opting out of a chance to prevent the shooting, the Guardian reported.
It also joins a series of cases filed against OpenAI in US state and federal courts in recent months over claims that ChatGPT facilitated violence, including lawsuits related to a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. In June, Florida became the first US state to sue OpenAI over safety risks, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of ChatGPT. That lawsuit said the platform harmed children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and addicting young users. OpenAI has denied the claims.